To Zero plastic, Zero carbon
- 관리자
- 2023.08.12
Transitioning Plastic Packaging to 100% Paper Material, Utilizing Coffee Husks for Injection Molding, Limestone Material as a Replacement for Plastic or Paper, Upcycling Eco Chips Utilizing PEI Material...
Revation is a social venture dedicated to developing products and services that not only reduce plastic waste from the production stage but ultimately aim for carbon neutrality.
In this era where immediate action on ESG is imperative, the significance of this company cannot be overstated.
The Value of ESG Embodied in Paper Mold
In the midst of the 2021 pandemic, Min-sung Lee founded Revation with a sense of urgency.
As a former department head at LG Household & Health Care, with 12 years of experience spanning from development to sales, Lee felt a strong sense of duty to assist domestic companies in their ESG initiatives. Moreover, with the direction of domestic consumer goods increasingly falling behind that of the EU, US, and even China, postponing the startup was not an option.
The mission of Revation, which embodies the meaning of "returning to nature through innovation," is abbreviated from "Re+Innovation." As carbon neutrality, zero waste, and other environmentally friendly practices become essential tasks for companies worldwide, Revation aims to respond sensitively to environmental issues through the fusion of innovative design and technology.
In reality, Revation is a social venture founded by experts in R&D, marketing, and design in the domestic consumer goods and cosmetics industries such as LG Household & Health Care and Dr. Jart. As a specialist in eco-friendly product R&D solutions, Revation provides services and solutions related to eco-friendly products, ranging from consulting and design production to product R&D, manufacturing, inspection, and delivery. Its major clients range from large corporations like Cosmax, Naver, LG, and SK to leading domestic multi-brand retailers, SMEs, and small business owners, totaling over 100 companies.
The rapid growth of Revation, celebrating its second anniversary not long ago, is remarkable. The flagship product is the paper mold. Transforming conventional plastic trays and packaging into 100% paper material, the paper mold vividly demonstrates Revation's entrepreneurial spirit. Not only is the paper mold made of paper material, but it also overcomes the shortcomings of traditional pulp molds such as strength, cost, and order quantity limits in one fell swoop, serving as an eco-friendly alternative to plastic. In addition to its excellent strength and cost-effectiveness, the paper mold allows direct printing on the surface, enabling customers to drastically reduce recycling fees. From the consumer's perspective, there is no inconvenience in separating waste. As a product that has long been deemed essential in the eco-friendly packaging market, the paper mold has become Revation's flagship product, with sales growing by over 550% in 2022 compared to its first year of operation.
Furthermore, as of July 2023, Revation has secured over 100 B2B customers.
Revation was founded by experts from renowned consumer goods and cosmetics industries in the fields of R&D, marketing, and design.
In addition to the plastic alternative material applied to the Multi Balm brand, the paper mold is the flagship product of Revation.
The production process also contributes to carbon reduction.
Revation's product development and production processes serve as exemplary cases for ESG companies aiming for carbon neutrality.
Utilizing their proprietary production tool called "Restudio," they manage design, material R&D, production, delivery, and services. This significantly reduces the workload, timelines, and development costs for clients.
"The advantage of Restudio is that we continuously accumulate data from our developed cases, allowing us to build R&D, design, and production systems tailored to the ESG requirements our clients demand. For example, recent products developed for Yuhan-Kimberly were almost half the cost of in-house development when produced using the Restudio process."
The CEO introduced Revation as a hub capable of providing services suitable for any company needing ESG solutions.
He emphasized the importance of this role, especially in raising awareness among domestic companies, where a lack of understanding of ESG's significance could lead to trade barriers affecting exports.
"Amidst the pandemic, even Chinese companies are swiftly adopting ESG practices.
This illustrates the growing global recognition of ESG's importance. However, in South Korea, awareness and implementation lag behind, resulting in frequent disruptions in exports due to ESG compliance issues.
As ESG compliance increasingly becomes a prerequisite for exports, I am eager to assist domestic companies in transforming into ESG-compliant enterprises as soon as possible."
Revation's social impact is evident in their proactive development of alternative materials to replace plastic.
They have already completed the development of products such as paper molds, coffee chips, limestone-based materials, and eco-chips, while the development of biodegradable materials like bio-polymers and wood bio-mass is underway, ensuring minimal concern over microplastics.
For a Zero Plastic Society
"Our goal is not vague. Our aim is to set a precedent as a company by reducing our carbon footprint to zero. By 2025, we aim to reduce it by 50%, and by 2030, we want to achieve 100% carbon neutrality.
We want to demonstrate how businesses can accomplish carbon neutrality."
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Plastics Outlook report, as of 2019, the global recycling rate for plastic waste was only 9%. Incineration and landfilling accounted for 19% and 50%, respectively, while the remaining 22% leaked harmful substances such as microplastics.
The OECD report clearly demonstrates the need to minimize the use of fossil fuel-based virgin resources and transition the plastic resource cycle structure to a circular economy. This underscores the urgent need for all companies worldwide to immediately join efforts, ultimately progressing towards replacing greenhouse gas emissions with advancements in plastic recycling technology and, ultimately, with bioplastics. In other words, the repeated urging by the CEO is a strong expression of Revation's determination to first serve as a hub for ESG initiatives among domestic companies on the path to a plastic-free society and carbon neutrality, and further, to achieve greater growth as a global corporation.
